Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fabrication of MoS2@g-C3N4 core-shell nanospheres for visible light photocatalytic degradation of toluene

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Nanoparticle Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The semiconductor-based photocatalytic oxidation process is considered as one of the most economical and environmentally friendly approach for the degradation of toluene. For the sake of exploring an efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts, the MoS2@g-C3N4 core-shell nanospheres were successfully fabricated by taking the advantages of the morphology and structure of materials tailoring and semiconductor coupling, via a two-step approach including the hydrothermal method followed by ultrasonic adhering approach. The morphology, crystallinity, composition, and optical property of as-prepared catalysts were well characterized. The core-shell structure was fabricated by using MoS2 as the template and the coating of g-C3N4 improved the separation of photoinduced charges, due to the strong electronic interaction between them. The photocatalytic activity of MoS2@g-C3N4 core-shell nanospheres had been investigated by the degradation of toluene under visible light irradiation using in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The MoS2@g-C3N4 nanospheres displayed enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity, which is about 1.3 and 9.6 times than that of g-C3N4 and MoS2 nanospheres under identical conditions. Electron spin resonance (ESR) examinations confirmed the generation of ·OH and ·O2−, which were the key reactive oxygen species involved in the photocatalytic process.

Graphical abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aguero FN, Barbero BP, Gambaro L, Cadús LE (2009) Catalytic combustion of volatile organic compounds in binary mixtures over MnOx/Al2O3 catalyst. Appl Catal, B 91:108–112

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad T, Phul R, Alam P, Lone IH, Shahazad M, Ahmed J, Ahamad T, Alshehri SM (2017) Dielectric, optical and enhanced photocatalytic properties of CuCrO2 nanoparticles. RSC Adv 7:27549–27557

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • AlShehri SM, Ahmed J, Ahamada T, Almaswari BM, Khan A (2017a) Efficient photodegradation of methylthioninium chloride dye in aqueous using barium tungstate nanoparticles. J Nanopart Res 19:289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • AlShehri SM, Ahmed J, Alzahrania AM, Ahamada T (2017b) Synthesis, characterization, and enhanced photocatalytic properties of NiWO4 nanobricks. New J Chem 41:8178–8186

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ardizzone S, Bianchi CL, Cappelletti G, Naldoni A, Pirola C (2008) Photocatalytic degradation of toluene in the gas phase: relationship between surface species and catalyst features. Environ Sci Technol 42:6671–6676

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson R, Arey J (2003) Atmospheric degradation of volatile organic compounds. Chem Rev 103:4605–4638

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Augugliaro V, Coluccia S, Loddo V, Marchese L, Martra G, Palmisano L, Schiavello M (1999) Photocatalytic oxidation of gaseous toluene on anatase TiO2 catalyst: mechanistic aspects and FT-IR investigation. Appl Catal, B 20:15–27

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barpuzary D, Banik A, Gogoi G, Qureshi M (2015) Noble metal-free counter electrodes utilizing Cu2ZnSnS4 loaded with MoS2 for efficient solar cells based on ZnO nanowires co-sensitized with CuInS2–CdSe quantum dots. J Mater Chem A 3:14378–14388

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Belver C, López-Muñoz MJ, Coronado JM, Soria J (2003) Palladium enhanced resistance to deactivation of titanium dioxide during the photocatalytic oxidation of toluene vapors. Appl Catal, B 46:497–509

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burman D, Ghosh R, Santra S, Guha PK (2016) Highly proton conducting MoS2/graphene oxide nanocomposite based chemoresistive humidity sensor. RSC Adv 6:57424–57433

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cao L, Gao Z, Suib SL, Obee TN, Hay SO, Freihaut JD (2000) Photocatalytic oxidation of toluene on nanoscale TiO2 catalysts: studies of deactivation and regeneration. J Catal 196:253–261

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen G, Li D, Li F, Fan Y, Zhao H, Luo Y, Yu R, Meng Q (2012) Ball-milling combined calcination synthesis of MoS2/CdS photocatalysts for high photocatalytic H2 evolution activity under visible light irradiation. Appl Catal, A 443–444:138–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi MS, Qu D, Lee D, Liu X, Watanabe K, Taniguchi T, Yoo WJ (2014) Lateral MoS2 p–n junction formed by chemical doping for use in high-performance optoelectronics. ACS Nano 8:9332–9340

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins DR, Martinez U, Kappera R, Voiry D, Martinez-Garcia A, Jasinski J, Kelly D, Chhowalla M, Mohite AD, Sunkara MK, Gupta G (2015) Catalytic activity in lithium-treated core–shell MoOx/MoS2 nanowires. J Phys Chem C 119:22908–22914

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dang X, Zhang X, Chen Y, Dong X, Wang G, Ma C, Zhang X, Ma H, Xue M (2015) Preparation of β-Bi2O3/g-C3N4 nanosheet p–n junction for enhanced photocatalytic ability under visible light illumination. J Nanopart Res 17:93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domi et al (2003) Silica-supported palladium nanoparticles show remarkable hydrogenation catalytic activity. J Mol Catal A Chem 197:185–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng JX, Ding LX, Ye SH, He XJ, Xu H, Tong YX, Li GR (2015) Co(OH)2 @PANI hybrid nanosheets with 3D networks as high-performance electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction. Adv Mater 27:7051–7057

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh Chaudhuri R, Paria S (2012) Core/shell nanoparticles: classes, properties, synthesis mechanisms, characterization, and applications. Chem Rev 112:2373–2433

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gil RR, Ruiz B, Lozano MS, Martín MJ, Fuente E (2014) VOCs removal by adsorption onto activated carbons from biocollagenic wastes of vegetable tanning. Chem Eng J 245:80–88

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hou Y, Zuo F, Dagg A, Feng P (2012) Visible light-driven alpha-Fe2O3 nanorod/graphene/BiV1-xMoxO4 core/shell heterojunction array for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting. Nano Lett 12:6464–6473

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hou Y, Laursen AB, Zhang J, Zhang G, Zhu Y, Wang X, Dahl S, Chorkendorff I (2013) Layered nanojunctions for hydrogen-evolution catalysis. Angew Chem Int Ed 52:3621–3625

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hou H, Gao F, Wang L, Shang M, Yang Z, Zheng J, Yang W (2016) Superior thoroughly mesoporous ternary hybrid photocatalysts of TiO2/WO3/g-C3N4 nanofibers for visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution. J Mater Chem A 4:6276–6281

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang J, Hou D, Zhou Y, Zhou W, Li G, Tang Z, Li L, Chen S (2015) MoS2 nanosheet-coated CoS2 nanowire arrays on carbon cloth as three-dimensional electrodes for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution. J Mater Chem A 3:22886–22891

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang H, Kim H, Cho J (2011) MoS2 nanoplates consisting of disordered graphene-like layers for high rate lithium battery anode materials. Nano Lett 11:4826–4830

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang W, Liu Y, Zong R, Li Z, Yao W, Zhu Y (2015) Photocatalytic hydrogen generation on bifunctional ternary heterostructured In2S3/MoS2/CdS composites with high activity and stability under visible light irradiation. J Mater Chem A 3:18406–18412

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kesavan L, Tiruvalam R, Rahim MHA, bin Saiman MI, Enache DI, Jenkins RL, Dimitratos N, Lopez-Sanchez JA, Taylor SH, Knight DW, Kiely CJ, Hutchings GJ (2011) Solvent-free oxidation of primary carbon-hydrogen bonds in toluene using Au-Pd alloy nanoparticles. Science 331:195–199

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kostiainen R (1995) Volatile organic compounds in the indoor air of normal and sick houses. Atmos Environ 29:693–702

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Zou X, Qu Z, Zhao Q, Wang L (2011) Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene over Ag-doping TiO2 nanotube powder prepared by anodization coupled with impregnation method. Chemosphere 83:674–679

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Shen B, Hong Z, Lin B, Gao B, Chen Y (2012) A facile approach to synthesize novel oxygen-doped g-C3N4 with superior visible-light photoreactivity. Chem Commun 48:12017–12019

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li H, Yu K, Lei X, Guo B, Fu H, Zhu Z (2015a) Hydrothermal synthesis of novel MoS2/BiVO4 hetero-nanoflowers with enhanced photocatalytic activity and a mechanism investigation. J Phys Chem C 119:22681–22689

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Hartley G, Ward AJ, Young PA, Masters AF, Maschmeyer T (2015b) Hydrogenated defects in graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets for improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. J Phys Chem C 119:14938–14946

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li G, Sun J, Hou W, Jiang S, Huang Y, Geng J (2016) Three-dimensional porous carbon composites containing high sulfur nanoparticle content for high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries. Nat Commun 7:10601

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin T, Wang J, Guo L, Fu F (2015) Fe3O4@MoS2 core–shell composites: preparation, characterization, and catalytic application. J Phys Chem C 119:13658–13664

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Jin N (2015) The typical environmental system optimization problems solved by computer software. In: 2015 7th international conference on modelling, identification and control (ICMIC), 18–20 Dec. 2015, pp 1–6

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Zhang T, Wang Z, Dawson G, Chen W (2011) Simple pyrolysis of urea into graphitic carbon nitride with recyclable adsorption and photocatalytic activity. J Mater Chem 21:14398

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Li X, Zhao Q, Ke J, Liu J, Liu S, Tadé M (2015) Photocatalytic degradation of gaseous toluene with multiphase TixZr1−xO2 synthesized via co-precipitation route. J Colloid Interface Sci 438:1–6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu X, Jin Y, Zhang X, Xu G, Wang D, Lv J, Zheng Z, Wu Y (2016) Controllable synthesis of graphitic C3N4/ultrathin MoS2 nanosheet hybrid nanostructures with enhanced photocatalytic performance. Dalton Trans 45:15406–15414

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lukowski MA, Daniel AS, Meng F, Forticaux A, Li L, Jin S (2013) Enhanced hydrogen evolution catalysis from chemically exfoliated metallic MoS2 Nanosheets. J Am Chem Soc 135:10274–10277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maira AJ, Coronado JM, Augugliaro V, Yeung KL, Conesa JC, Soria J (2001) Fourier transform infrared study of the performance of nanostructured TiO2 particles for the photocatalytic oxidation of gaseous toluene. J Catal 202:413–420

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malhautier L, Quijano G, Avezac M, Rocher J, Fanlo JL (2014) Kinetic characterization of toluene biodegradation by Rhodococcus erythropolis: towards a rationale for microflora enhancement in bioreactors devoted to air treatment. Chem Eng J 247:199–204

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mista W, Kacprzyk R (2008) Decomposition of toluene using non-thermal plasma reactor at room temperature. Catal Today 137:345–349

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Muñoz-Batista MJ, Fontelles-Carceller O, Ferrer M, Fernández-García M, Kubacka A (2016) Disinfection capability of Ag/g-C3N4 composite photocatalysts under UV and visible light illumination. Appl Catal, B 183:86–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan C, Xu J, Wang Y, Li D, Zhu Y (2012) Dramatic activity of C3N4/BiPO4 Photocatalyst with core/shell structure formed by self-assembly. Adv Funct Mater 22:1518–1524

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parida KM, Sahu N, Tripathi AK, Kamble VS (2010) Gold promoted S,N−doped TiO2: an efficient catalyst for CO adsorption and oxidation. Environ Sci Technol 44:4155–4160

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pradhan GK, Padhi DK, Parida KM (2013) Fabrication of α-Fe2O3 nanorod/RGO composite: a novel hybrid photocatalyst for phenol degradation. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 5:9101–9110

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Puértolas B, García-Andújar L, García T, Navarro MV, Mitchell S, Pérez-Ramírez J (2014) Bifunctional Cu/H-ZSM-5 zeolite with hierarchical porosity for hydrocarbon abatement under cold-start conditions. Appl Catal, B 154–155:161–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen Y, Zhao Q, Li X, Yuan D, Hou Y, Liu S (2012) Enhanced visible-light induced degradation of benzene on Mg-ferrite/hematite/PANI nanospheres: in situ FTIR investigation. J Hazard Mater 241–242:472–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun Z, Li X, Guo S, Wang H, Wu Z (2013) One-step synthesis of Cl−-doped Pt(IV)/Bi2WO6 with advanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for toluene degradation in air. J Colloid Interface Sci 412:31–38

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun J, Li X, Zhao Q, Ke J, Zhang D (2014) Novel V2O5/BiVO4/TiO2 nanocomposites with high visible-light-induced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of toluene. J Phys Chem C 118:10113–10121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun J, Li X, Zhao Q, Tade MO, Liu S (2015) Quantum-sized BiVO4 modified TiO2 microflower composite heterostructures: efficient production of hydroxyl radicals towards visible light-driven degradation of gaseous toluene. J Mater Chem A 3:21655–21663

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Q, Zhang M, Chen C, Ma W, Zhao J (2010) Photocatalytic aerobic oxidation of alcohols on TiO2: the acceleration effect of a brønsted acid. Angew Chem Int Ed 49:7976–7979

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang M, Li G, Xu H, Qian Y, Yang J (2013) Enhanced lithium storage performances of hierarchical hollow MoS2 nanoparticles assembled from nanosheets. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 5:1003–1008

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang PP, Sun H, Ji Y, Li W, Wang X (2014a) Three-dimensional assembly of single-layered MoS2. Adv Mater 26:964–969

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang S, Zhang L, Long C, Li A (2014b) Enhanced adsorption and desorption of VOCs vapor on novel micro-mesoporous polymeric adsorbents. J Colloid Interface Sci 428:185–190

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong W, Zhao Q, Li X, Zhang D (2011) One-step synthesis of flower-like Ag/AgCl/BiOCl composite with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity. Catal Commun 16:229–233

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan Y, Xia B, Ge X, Liu Z, Wang J-Y, Wang X (2013) Ultrathin MoS2 nanoplates with rich active sites as highly efficient catalyst for hydrogen evolution. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 5:12794–12798

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu J, Yue L, Liu S, Huang B, Zhang X (2009) Hydrothermal preparation and photocatalytic activity of mesoporous Au–TiO2 nanocomposite microspheres. J Colloid Interface Sci 334:58–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu L, Lee YH, Ling X, Santos EJG, Shin YC, Lin Y, Dubey M, Kaxiras E, Kong J, Wang H, Palacios T (2014) Graphene/MoS2 hybrid technology for large-scale two-dimensional electronics. Nano Lett 14:3055–3063

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yurdakal S, Palmisano G, Loddo V, Augugliaro V, Palmisano L (2008) Nanostructured rutile TiO2 for selective photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic alcohols to aldehydes in water. J Am Chem Soc 130:1568–1569

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L, Wu HB, Yan Y, Wang X, Lou XW (2014) Hierarchical MoS2 microboxes constructed by nanosheets with enhanced electrochemical properties for lithium storage and water splitting. Energy Environ Sci 7:3302–3306

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang S, Chowdari BVR, Wen Z, Jin J, Yang J (2015) Constructing highly oriented configuration by few-layer MoS2: toward high-performance lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen evolution reactions. ACS Nano 9:12464–12472

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao W, Liu Y, Wei Z, Yang S, He H, Sun C (2016) Fabrication of a novel p–n heterojunction photocatalyst n-BiVO4@p-MoS2 with core–shell structure and its excellent visible-light photocatalytic reduction and oxidation activities. Appl Catal, B 185:242–252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou M, Lou XW, Xie Y (2013) Two-dimensional nanosheets for photoelectrochemical water splitting: possibilities and opportunities. Nano Today 8:598–618

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zou X, Dong Y, Li X, Zhao Q, Cui Y, Lu G (2015) Inorganic–organic photocatalyst BiPO4/g-C3N4 for efficient removal of gaseous toluene under visible light irradiation. Catal Commun 69:109–113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported financially by the Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21590813), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21377015 and 21577012), the Key Project of the National Ministry of Science and Technology (No. 2016YFC0204204), the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (B13012), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (DUT16RC(3)095), and the Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering, China Ministry of Education.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (MOE), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Xin Wang, Wei Xiong, Xinyong Li, Qidong Zhao, Shiying Fan, Mingmei Zhang & Jincheng Mu

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Xinyong Li & Aicheng Chen

Authors
  1. Xin Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wei Xiong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xinyong Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Qidong Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Shiying Fan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mingmei Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jincheng Mu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Aicheng Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xinyong Li or Aicheng Chen.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, X., Xiong, W., Li, X. et al. Fabrication of MoS2@g-C3N4 core-shell nanospheres for visible light photocatalytic degradation of toluene. J Nanopart Res 20, 243 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-018-4340-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-018-4340-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation